Paternal occupational lead exposure and pregnancy outcome.
Authors
Alexander-BH; Checkoway-H; Van Netten-C; Kaufman-JD; Vaughan-TL; Mueller-BA; Faustman-EM
Source
Int J Occup Environ Health 1996 Oct; 2(4):280-285
Abstract
Self-reported reproductive histories of male employees of a lead-zinc smelter were related to pre-conception measures of lead exposure to examine associations between paternal occupational lead exposure and adverse pregnancy outcome. The participants reported 2,021 pregnancies which resulted in 1,684 normal live births, 12 stillbirths, 30 birth defects, 203 spontaneous abortions, and 92 "other" outcomes. Birth defects and stillbirths were combined for the analysis. The risk of a stillbirth or birth defect was elevated for pre-conception employment in a high-lead-exposure compared with a low-lead-exposure job (odds ratio = 2.7, 95% confidence interval = 0.7, 9.6). A similar risk was found for pre-conception blood lead levels of 25-39 microg/dL and >/= 40 microg/dL when compared with blood lead levels of < 25 microg/dL (OR = 2.9, 95% CI = 0.6, 13.3, and OR = 2.5, 95% CI = 0.5, 11.6, respectively). No association was found between pre-conception lead exposure and spontaneous abortion. A relatively low response rate to the questionnaire and potentially erroneous reporting of reproductive outcomes by male workers are limitations of the study.
Keywords
Occupational-exposure; Exposure-levels; Blood-analysis; Lead-compounds; Workers; Work-environment; Smelters; Epidemiology; Biomarkers; Reproductive-effects; Demographic-characteristics; Sex-factors; Reproductive-system-disorders; Pregnancy; Zinc-compounds
Contact
Elaine M. Faustman, PhD, Department of Environmental Health, Box 354695, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
CAS No.
7439-92-1; 7440-66-6
Document Type
Journal Article
Identifying No.
Grant-Number-R03-OH-002966
Priority Area
Other Occupational Concerns
Source Name
International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health
Performing Organization
University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
